anid by the comma the gofpel; men's legal notions and imaginatio is our stre weakens fpect it natura child us a of ar A that acted from 15, nór from a nerely to himself; ope of heaven, upon ne promiffory fanction of fears of hell, upon his difthe penal fanction of the law. al fanction that he is under, keeps of fin; for, like a ftrong chain, he cannot act freely and willingly, wer only in a mercenary and flavish way, like the law, and not like a fervant to God. Be they are delivered from the law, act and with a willing mind; not by the co-action of death of the law, but without refpect either to of life upon doing, or the law-threatupon not doing; being, by virtue of Father in Chrift with pleasure: this title to life, and fethe new nature, ready to do the will of their God and curity from death, ftanding allenarly upon the obedience and fatisfaction of their Head and Surety. Therefore, there is no law-promife or of that they have to regard; and confequently their obedience must be chearful, free, willing, and natural, without all legal compulfion. As the body needs no law-fanction, to compel it to eat, drink, fleep, walk, or ftand, or do any of the works of nature; even fo, it is natural to the believer, according to the measure of How the Law is fa, ofered. s it is in the La pe re, which is irritated by the iv. the commandment, and te 2 makes the tit from legal bondage, to act freely in the e, without the coaction of the law: being the ftrength of fin is broken, and he is re the Lord without fear, in holinefs efore him. But fuch as are under mpulfion, and are acted and influfanction of the law-promife and the power of legal hopes and ternal life upon their doing al death upon their failunt, under the power ey remain, and live, and m, and their fears will come HOPE is a dead hope, that can cart; fo their FEAR is a flavish fear, .em depart from God. It is true, under of thefe legal hopes and fears, influenced by miffory and penal fanction of the law, the poor ner that is thus in bondage to the law, may perform a multitude of duties, and be very ftrict and devout, as if who but he? and yet, the more he does, the more he undoes himself, being intangled in that yoke of bondage, as the expreffion is, Gal. v. 1. The yoke but galls his neck, and holds him back from taking on Chrift's eafy yoke. Yea, in thefe circumflances, he can bring forth no fruit that is truly and spiritually good: for, as they only that are divorced from the law, and married to Chrift, do bring forth fruit unto God, Rom. vii. 4.; fo they that remain thus under the yoke of the law, can bring forth no fruit, but to themfelves and the devil.Thus you fee how and in what refpect the law is the ftrength of fin. I proceed, V. To the Fifth thing propofed, which was, To fhow whence it is that the law is the ftrength of fin. From what fpring and fource does this arife? whence comes it, that fin fhould have a commanding and condemning power over a man, that is under the law; and that, as the law cannot deliver him, fo it detains him a captive. unto fin? Several reafons of this doctrine are interfperf ed among the particulars on the former heads: But, be VOL. V. + G fide SER. LXXV. ken covenant of works, cannot but be the firength of fin and felf, to all that are influenced in their obedience, with a refpect thereunto. The fanction of the law, by which it was caft into the form of a covenant of works, was the promife of life upon our obedience, and threatening of death upon difobedience: now, to obey, or do, from a regard to that fanction, is to do duty, from the hope of eternal life by doing; and to fhun evil, from the fear of eternal death and damnation: but, for a man to be thus under the co-action and compulfion of the law, is to be under the power of fin, notwithflanding his best performances; for the man that is acted and influenced by that fanction, cannot now be acted from love to 'God, which alone is true holiness, nor from a view to God's glory and honour, but merely to himself; which is evident from his legal hope of heaven, upon his obedience, influenced by the promiffory fanction of the law; and from his legal fears of hell, upon his difobedience, influenced by the penal fanction of the law. This power of the legal fanction that he is under, keeps him under the power of fin; for, like a ftrong chain, it fetters him, that he cannot act freely and willingly, nay, he acts only in a mercenary and flavish way, like a flave to the law, and not like a fervant to God. Believers, fo far as they are delivered from the law, act freely, and with a willing mind; not by the co-action and compulfion of the law, but without refpect either to the law-promife of life upon doing, or the law-threatening of death upon not doing; being, by virtue of the new nature, ready to do the will of their God and Father in Chrift with pleafure: this title to life, and fecurity from death, ftanding allenarly upon the obedience and fatisfaction of their Head and Surety. Therefore, there is no law-promife of life, or threatening of death, that they have to regard; and confequently their obedience must be chearful, free, willing, and natural, without all legal compulfion. As the body needs no law-fanction, to compel it to eat, drink, fleep, walk, or ftand, or do any of the works of nature; even fo, it is natural to the believer, according to the measure of his freedom from legal bondage, to act freely in the Lord's fervice, without the coaction of the law: being loofed from it, the ftrength of fin is broken, and he is at liberty to ferve the Lord without fear, in holinefs and righteoufnefs before him. But fuch as are under the power of legal compulfion, and are acted and influenced by a regard to the fanction of the law-promife and threatening, and fo under the power of legal hopes and fears; that is, the hope of eternal life upon their doing fo and fo, and the fear of eternal death upon their failure, they are, on this very account, under the power and strength of fin; where, if they remain, and live, and die, their hope will fail them, and their fears will come upon them: for, as their HOPE is a dead hope, that cannot purify their heart; fo their FEAR is a flavish fear, that makes them depart from God. It is true, under the power of thefe legal hopes and fears, influenced by the promiffory and penal fanction of the law, the poor finner that is thus in bondage to the law, may perform a multitude of duties, and be very ftrict and devout, as if who but he? and yet, the more he does, the more he undoes himself, being intangled in that yoke of bondage, as the expreffion is, Gal. v. 1. The yoke but galls his neck, and holds him back from taking on Christ's eafy yoke. Yea, in thefe circumflances, he can bring forth no fruit that is truly and fpiritually good: for, as they only that are divorced from the law, and married to Chrift, do bring forth fruit unto God, Rom. vii. 4.; fo they that remain thus under the yoke of the law, can bring forth no fruit, but to themfelves and the devil.Thus you fee how and in what refpect the law is the ftrength of fin. I proceed, V. To the Fifth thing propofed, which was, To fhow whence it is that the law is the ftrength of fin. From what fpring and fource does this arife? whence comes it, that fin fhould have a commanding and condemning power over a man, that is under the law; and that, as the law cannot deliver him, fo it detains him a captive unto fin? Several reafons of this doctrine are interfperf ed among the particulars on the former heads: But, beVOL. V. + G fide fide what hath been faid, I fhall now offer the following: 1. That the law, now violated and broken, is the frength of fin, proceeds from the holiness and juftice of the Law-giver" He is of purer eyes than that he can behold iniquity;" and, " Juftice and judgment are the habitation of his throne:" Therefore, when his holiness and purity appearing in the precept of the law, is croffed by fin, his justice and equity declared in the threatening of the law, cannot but break forth against fin in the righteous punishment thereof. Now, fin being the greatest evil, and the greatest evil deferving the greatest punishment; and there being no greater punishment of fin, than that of punifhing it by fin, and giving up the finner to the power and ftrength of it; therefore, this juft and holy God makes the strength of fin to be the strength of the fanction of the law, to the greatest ruin of the breaker of it. There is no evil like the evil of fin, which is the tranfgreffion of the law; and no judgment like the judgment of being given up to the firength of `fin : therefore, the most juft and holy Lawgiver makes the penalty of the broken law to be the firength of fin. So that to fay, the ftrength of fin is the law, is fo far from reflecting any difhonour upon the purity of the law, that it is a declaration of the holinefs of the command, and the justice of the threatening both. 2. That the law is the ftrength of fm, proceeds from the nature of the Law, in the office that God hath defigned and affigned to it; and that is, not to be the miniftration of life, and strength against fin, but to be fubfervient to the gofpel, which is the miniftration of life and righteousness, 2 Cor. iii. 7,-10. The law was never appointed of God to be the miniftration of life, but of death, even fpiritual death, and thereupon of further condemnation; but yet, as it is a miniflration of death and condemnation, it is appointed to be a fervant to the gofpel; and hence law-commands, and law-threatenings both, are brought into the gofpel-difpenfation, to be fubfervient thereto, and to illuftrate the glory thereof, and make way for its powerful efficacy, for the pulling down the flrong holds of fin, to which office the gofpel only |